The present invention relates to compositions and methods for the prevention and treatment of cataracts and retinopathy. Specifically, the present invention relates to selected compositions with or without chromium containing compounds, isolated from a variety of natural sources, including, but not limited to, a yeast strain S. carlsbergensis, S. Cerevisiae or any commercial source of yeast extract; and from the Saltbush, Ariplex halimus, growing in the Negev Desert near the Dead Sea and other arid and semiarid areas in the middle east, for the prevention or treatment of cataracts and retinopathy. Additionally, the present invention relates to formulations of synthetic sources of chromium complexes alone or in combination with compositions extracted from natural sources, for the prevention and treatment of cataracts and retinopathy.
Cataract excision is the most common type of operation in the aged population. Cataract is the cause of fifty percent of the blindness in the world and about one million cataract procedures are performed in the United States alone. Macular degeneration associated with aging is now a major cause of blindness. The crystalline lens loses its normal transparency and, as a result, there is interference with the passage of light through the lens. As the lens become opacified, vision is disturbed depending on the degree of opacification.
There are different etiologies for cataract formation such as aging, congenital lesions or trauma, some medicines such as steroids and glaucoma medications, cigarettes, alcohol, as well as inborn metabolic errors such as galactosemia, and diseases like diabetes.
At present, pirenoxine drops, proanthocyanidin drops, reduced glutathione drops, salivary gland hormone tablets, vitamin and mineral compositions and the like are used clinically for cataracts. U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,116 issued Dec. 24, 1991, U.S. Pat. No. 5,804,597 issued Sep. 8, 1998 and Machlin, L. et al., 1987, FASEB J. 1:441-445. However, these medications do not produce an effective therapeutic response and the only currently available treatment for cataracts is surgery.
The present invention relates to methods and compositions for the prevention and treatment of cataracts and retinopathy, comprising materials isolated from natural sources, including, but not limited to, a yeast strain-S. carlsbergensis, S. cerevisiae or any commercial source of yeast; or yeast extract or the Saltbush-Ariplex halimus, growing in the Negev Desert near the Dead Sea and other arid and semiarid areas in the middle east.
The present invention also provides methods and compositions of synthetic sources of chromium complexes including, but not limited to, chromium gluconate, chromium sulfate, chromium cysteine, chromium-N-acetyl cysteine, chromium glutathione, chromium acetate, chromium citrate, chromium ascorbate or chromium tartarate, for the prevention and treatment of cataracts and retinopathy.
The present invention provides methods and formulations having hypoglycemic and/or hypolipidemic activity, containing natural or synthetic compositions with or without chromium, exhibiting Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF) activity, for prevention and treatment of cataracts and retinopathy.
The present invention provides methods and formulations having antioxidant activity, containing natural and synthetic compositions with or without chromium, exhibiting free radical scavenging activity, for prevention and treatment of cataracts and retinopathy.
According to the present invention, the methods and compositions comprise materials isolated from natural sources, synthetic chromium complexes, GTF, given alone or in combination with any one or more of the agents, for the prevention and treatment of cataracts and retinopathy.
The present invention provides formulations containing natural and synthetic complexes with or without chromium, which can be applied in combination with an effective amount of one or more additional antioxidants including vitamin C, vitamin E, reduced glutathione, manganese, beta-carotene, ergothioneine, zinc, selenium, cysteine, N-acetyl cysteine, methionine or 2-mercaptoethanol.
According to an additional aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method to prevent and treat cataracts and retinopathy by applying formulations having an effective amount of anticataract-antiretinopathy compositions with or without chromium, isolated from natural sources or containing synthetic chromium complexes.
According to yet another aspect of the invention; there is provided a method to prevent and treat cataracts and retinopathy by applying formulations with or without chromium isolated from natural sources and/or containing synthetic chromium complexes in combination with an effective amount of one or more antioxidants including vitamin C, vitamin E, reduced glutathione, manganese, beta-carotene, ergothioneine, zinc, selenium, cysteine, N-acetyl cysteine, methionine or 2-mercaptoethanol.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be approved from the specification.
The invention accordingly comprises the several steps and the relations of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and the product embodying properties, which are adapted to effect such steps and methods, all as exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.